Simple Joys

I'm so glad I booked us in for the new Scienceworks planetarium show: "Capturing the Cosmos".

The girls are not that interested in science, yet when I looked out the corner of my eye, #1 was avidly watching the show, with no sign of boredom, and afterwards when the presenter was taking questions, she was still listening closely.

The snack bags on our way out were a nice touch too. Each of us got a bag with a bottle of water, cheese and crackers, and 2 mini muffins. Thanks, Scienceworks!

Afterwards, we wandered around the exhibits and the museum shop, then voted to try a Japanese cafe that we just happened to park in front of.

The menu had a section that read like a manual of customer expectations management. I loved it - I mean, when was the last time you laughed out loud before you even ordered?

• 1 variation to a dish is ok. 2 or more is not.
• Don't expect Aussie portions.
• Don't expect French-trained chefs. We only do homestyle cooking.

That menu is why I'm coming back. But I'll remember the portion size warning. Next time, I'm having a whole bento to myself!

And one more thing: the black sesame ice cream is amazing! I almost regretted sharing 2 scoops with hubby - I could have eaten it all myself.

The Beginning of Wisdom

As #1 settles into the routine of high school, I cannot help but notice how much more interested and vocal she has become about the subjects closest to her heart.

She has even begun educating her peers (and her dad) on them.

Shooting of unarmed black men by white policemen in the US. (Ferguson. Baltimore. Trayvon Martin. Tamir Rice. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Walter Scott. Freddie Gray.)

http://gawker.com/unarmed-people-of-color-killed-by-police-1999-2014-1666672349

Gender stereotyping. Gender equality.

She has become ultra sensitive to the plight of marginalized minority groups.

The next step is to guide her to use her God-given intellect, compassion and sense of justice to do something positive and constructive to create awareness, reduce injustice and contribute to a better world.

And to keep walking with God and trusting that He has the whole world in His hands in spite of our denial of Him, and a plan that is perfect, in spite of our imperfection.

May God give her enough years and the wisdom and humility to live out her mission.

Quiet Weekends Rock

Such a quiet weekend, yet such a rewarding one.

On Sat, took #2 to Chinese class in the morning and extra piano lesson in the arvo.

During Chinese class, the teacher announced hat she is going to use more Mandarin and less English in class, because that is the best way for students to improve their grasp of spoken Mandarin. Also, she prefers that parents (like me) not help kids out by translating for them. If they have questions, they can ask her directly.

I thoroughly approve. But I also know #2 is not ready. She can barely string a sentence together without prompting. She needs far more 1:1 attention and less stress from 听写， 默写, speed word games and trying to keep up with 老师's rapid 北京 accent.

It took me 11 years of continuous daily Chinese lessons and another 2 years as a mature adult to get to the (average) conversational standard that I am at. Imagine my poor Ozzie-born child trying to reach that standard when we don't even speak Mandarin at home. (My fault: I'm not that diligent.)

So the options are: homeschool her (am I patient enough, or will I yell when frustrated and create more friction between us?), or repeat Grade 4.

#2 sat her AMEB Grade 2 piano exam yesterday.

By the time yesterday came around, I had been through the whole cycle of stress (from "Why haven't you mastered your scales by now? Why are there still mistakes in your pieces??" to "If you get A or above, I will buy you Lego Friends") and had reached a place of inner calm and was able to surrender the situation to God and be my most encouraging and positive. Just as well it was hubby driving to Hawthorn, not me.

I remember this time 3 years ago when #1 sat her Grade 3 piano exam. She was 10 and at her most musically rebellious. She had made up her mind that she hated piano and would not practise, not even for the exam. I sat outside the studio on exam day, cringing as she misplayed her way through her pieces. Every wrong note felt like it was piercing my heart, and I almost wanted to go into the studio and take over for her. She got a C, and we decided that it was very clear that classical piano was not for her, and abandoned our well-meaning aspirations. I felt so bad for her teacher, who'd had to put up with a student who didn't want to learn and was wasting everyone's time.

While #2 was having her exam, I went to church with #1. Am grateful that she can now sit through the service without trying to sneak off every 30 minutes for some random reason like she used to. Lunch at KFC and then a trip to the library, which always makes us happy. We went home with a bag full of books (20 just for #2 and me) and everyone flopped around reading/napping.

A perfect weekend, really.

Why being a tradie can be better than working in an office

Our backyard has developed a life of its own - the grass is knee-high and the weeds are taller than we are.

The flyer that came in our mailbox promised lawn mowing from $24.95, which sounded enticing.

I rang the number, and the franchisee for our area came by.

As I took him around, I specified the job:

• Mowing of nature strip and backyard
• Removal of rubbish 
• Removal of weeds
• Removal of one dead tree
• Trimming of hedges and shrubs for front yard and backyard

He quoted me $520.

After years of talking to different tradies, having your own business as a tradie sounds more lucrative than being an office worker. You get to go on holidays and spend the weekends with family, but you choose your hours and your rates.

After taking into consideration the number of hours the average office worker spends at work plus time spent commuting, the tradie may well make more than the office worker, especially if you've built up a decent client base.

Something for tertiary-educated new migrants to think about?

God and Sunday School Camp

Right up till yesterday, I was feeling a bit discouraged by the low turnout for this year's Sunday School Camp. (We had 18 last year and just over 10 registrations this year.)

Then in less than 24 hours, we had a flurry of registrations, including 6 kids who have never attended the camp.

The total as I write is 19.

Was saying to hubby that I think this is God's way of saying He wants this camp to go ahead, that He is sovereign and He is guiding our steps.

All glory to Him.

Communications lessons learned:

1. Posting on my personal timeline in FB (instead of only in the SS group) attracted several likes and comments from friends and led to two new registrations.
2. Following up by phone and face-to-face produces immediate results. It garnered two new registrations from kids who have never camped with us.
3. Screening last year's camp video during the announcements over the past few Sundays helped the congregation get familiar with what camp is about. Straight after service today we were approached by a parent who wanted to register her two kids, who have never camped with us. 

In other words, there is no one best method. Try everything.

2015 already!

My brain has not fully registered that we are three days into the new year.

This is the year ...

My firstborn starts high school.

My younger child sits her first NAPLAN.

My best friend turns 40.

My soulmate turns 50 (!!).

There is much to be grateful for, and much more to learn.

So far we have enjoyed a four-day road trip, staying one night at Horsham and three nights in Adelaide. Was touched by evidence of personal growth in the firstborn, such as when she generously read fairytales to mei mei one night, and when she showed concern for Dad who drove non-stop from Warrnambool to reach home by midnight. Every five minutes, she would ask: "Are you okay Dad? Dad are you feeling okay?" Beautiful. She even sang to keep Dad awake, something she would never do in the daytime and under normal circumstances. It was so wondrous to hear her sing 'Stars' from Les Mis with feeling and lyrical accuracy, while we admired the thousand points of light in the black sky on that dark and deserted minor road leading to the Geelong Ring Road.

The tiler has come in and replaced all the vinyl flooring in the laundry and guest bathroom and toilet with tiles, and the carpeting (!!) in the ensuite with tiles.

I did not know 12 boxes of 30x30 charcoal-coloured tiles could bring me so much joy and make our comfy home even more pleasant to walk through.

Love his level of professionalism and detail. Now if he had only taken away the rubbish with him instead of leaving it in the carport, I would have given him 10/10. As it is, he gets 9/10.

Next big job is repainting the house, because the tradie who did the bathroom resurfacing accidentally took off significant bits of plaster from the ceiling. When you change one thing, you often find you have to change a whole lot of other things as well.

Bilingual Breakthrough

Whenever my tween shows an interest in speaking Mandarin or Hokkien (one of many Chinese dialects), I am always thrilled.

Tonight, she heard me answer my husband in Hokkien and asked what I said.

So began a simple lesson on counting one to ten and working out the ages of all the family members.

By the end of it, she was able to answer in Hokkien when asked "How old are you?"

I also explained the connection to Mandarin, how "你今年几岁了?” = le kin ni kui huay?

Was impressed by her quick grasp of the sounds, considering we aren't in a bilingual environment where she is exposed to the sound of Mandarin and Hokkien on a daily basis.

There is hope!